We invite you to join our Virtual Affinity Groups for DSST Staff, as well as a special PD session on Systemic Health & Social Inequities During COVID-19.
Virtual Affinity Groups
Where: Virtual Teams Meeting
When: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Our initial Virtual groups are as follows (but more will be developed depending on interest):
Multi-Race Affinity
Unpacking Whiteness Affinity
Asian Affinity
African American/Black Affinity
The “Invisible” Affinity Group
Affinity Group Dates and times for the Remainder of the school year:
(These dates are subject to change based on scheduling availability)
1. April 28th will be Race based @ 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
2. May 12th & 26th will be Intersectional @ 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
***Please reach out to Aaron J. Griffen if you are interested in participating a race-based group that is not listed above. These groups were chosen from our 2018-2019 interest survey based on the needs of our staff.
Questions and Comments: aaron.griffen@scienceandtech.org
What are Virtual Affinity Groups?
Virtual Affinity Groups are an optional discussion space in which participants unpack what it means to have membership within a racial and/or intersectional group, build relationships with teammates network-wide, and collectively strategize what our individual work can mean for our collective mission. Our first network wide Virtual Affinity Groups hope to contribute to and promote network wide sense of connection among individuals and individual identity markers during this historic time. In this first installment of Virtual Affinity Groups – to close out the 2019-2020 school year - Affinity Groups will intentionally focus on our “current” and “live” identity experiences as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual PD Session: Responding to Shifting and Sifting Narratives of Systemic Health and Social Inequities during COVID-19
When: April 29, 2020, 4:30 to 5:30
Where: Virtual Teams Meeting
Session Focus: The focus of this session is to build upon the Pandemic, Xenophobia, Racism and Social Distancing session conducted in late March. Participants will dive deeper into how despite social distancing, there are groups who are remain faced with overcoming a single story narrative in addition to an “othering” narrative, resulting into greater social inequities. Further, participants will receive response strategies to promote a counter narrative that investigates the historical health inequities “plaguing” the most vulnerable member of our DSST families and communities.
Virtual PD/Training/Development Strand Pivot
The DSST Virtual PD/Training/Development Strand represents a Virtual and Conceptual pivot in how we conduct our development. Often, we provide development proactively, as prevention, in reaction, and/or in response to data, crisis, or an emerging concern. Therefore, the COVID-19 experience across our nation, and specifically, in education provides us with an opportunity to provide a more intentional, specific and responsive way of engaging staff in ongoing development.
As there are looming questions we have as a school staff, network, community, city, state, and nation that we must continue to unpack and think through in order to navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic, our DSST pivot represents development that addresses the present experiences and moment in the realness of “right now”. By offering this real time moment pivot to our DSST network, it is our hope that we can bring our network together and collectively navigate the up to date narratives affecting our communities, students, families, staff and ourselves. Together, we will continue to lean into our collective curiosity, responsibility, integrity, courage, and doing our best (DYB) for supporting one another, our students, our families, and taking care of ourselves during this time.
What can you expect?
DSST Home Office and school personnel will provide the Virtual PD/Training/Development Strand. Sessions will be developed and provided to meet the COVID-19 virtual, personal and professional needs of DSST staff via TEAMS Meetings. We will design and provide these development sessions to support staff for making sense of and being able to respond to the shifting narratives around systemic, health, and social inequities. In addition, we hope to grow staff in how we provide access to content and learning for students and to develop awareness about the perpetual trauma experiences among staff, students, families, and communities before, during, and after COVID-19.
Please check out our daily communications from our SLT and MAC team for more resource ideas. Here you will find resources and programming that aim to support all of our collective work toward communicating timely updates on COVID-19 and additional community supports.
Please reach out to aaron.griffen@scienceandtech.org with any questions.
